Déjà vu: I’m left sitting in the same seat at Starbucks on a Sunday afternoon, except this time to write my final column for the semester. What started out as my attempt for a glimmer of self-exploration has manifested into something totally different. These moments of self-identity crises have been exchanged for bouts of clarity and advice through friends, professors and even strangers.

So for this last time, I’d like to pay homage to Mary Schmich at the Chicago Tribune and her famous June 1997 column, ‘Advice, like youth, probably wasted on the young.’ It’s been more than 10 years since her column was published, but somehow, her words of wisdom have stuck with me. I hope that what I’m about to write will be half as useful for the future Syracuse years ahead.

Thus, I begin my soliloquy: what I learned from my journey of self-exploration during the college sophomore slump:

* Have brunch every Sunday. It’s a great end to your weekend and a refreshing beginning to your week.
* Add mimosas for extra kick.
* Make a day trip to the cemetery. Take photographs. Enjoy the scenery. Bask under perfect weather.
* During times of stress, listen to Pavement. Over and over. Until the angst numbs you.
* Visit 2nd Story Books on Westcott Street. Order a cup of Joe and relax.
* Go on a hike. Doesn’t matter where. Just go.
* Watch the leaves change colors during autumn.
* Forget Wegmans and visit the local co-op grocery store.
* Sit in Crouse College during the chiming of the bells.
* During meteor showers, invite your friends, bring some blankets and go to Thornden Park. Even in sub-zero degree weather, it’s well worth the wait.
* Do Sunday brunches.
* Stroll around campus with music blasting through your headphones. Your view of the school will be changed.
* Syra-Juice. Just go. Order the 5 Star Club.
* Go downtown.
* Visit the New York State Fair.
* Ignore freezing temperatures and brutal winds, build a snowman instead.
* Cheer for the basketball and football team.
* Ditch the dining center, wine and dine instead.
* But when you are in the dining center, be creative with what you make.
* Couch surf and WWOOF when you have the chance.
* Go on a Habitat for Humanity trip. Doesn’t matter where. Just go.
* Say ‘thank you’ to the nice people who work for Food Services.
* Jog to the top of the Hill and scream at the top of your lungs. Pure liberation.
* Enjoy the lunch buffet at Samrat Indian Restaurant. It is perfection.
* See The Fly perform at least once.
* Sit on the Quad and people watch.
* Take a nap under the sunshine.

But really, don’t overlook the Sunday brunches. They do wonders.

Angela Hu is a sophomore magazine journalism and English and textual
studies major. Her column appears weekly and she can be reached at
ajhu01@syr.edu.

 

Published on May 2, 2010 at 12:00 pm